Cold Day In July
by The Notorious Naurwen
Summary: ~Songfic~ Irvine leaves Selphie for fear of truly commiting. But is there the faintest glimmer of hope for them getting back together? ~Selvine.~


Cold Day In July.  
  
A Songfic By: The Notorious Naurwen  
  
Song By: The Dixie Chicks  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the song 'Cold Day In July' by The Dixie Chicks, nor do I own Final Fantasy 8. Thanks!  
  
Selphie sat on the porch swing of her quaint little home in Balamb. It was her birthday, July 16th, but she wasn't happy. She was embracing herself as tears silently ran down her face. The images of the night before kept replaying in mind.  
  
"Please, Irvy! Don't go! It doesn't have to be this way!" She had cried, sobbing loudly.  
  
"Selphie . . . it does. Don't make this harder than it already is. Please . . ."  
  
"Irvine. . . look at this ring! You gave it to me because you loved me, right?" Selphie pleaded, looking into his violet eyes. "Look me in the eye and tell me you don't love me anymore."  
  
"I . . . don't love you anymore." He said painfully, tears falling from his eyes.  
  
"Fine." She sobbed, though she forced her voice to remain neutral. "Goodbye."  
  
"Goodbye, Selphie. I'm really sorry." He said wiping away his old tears as new ones followed.  
  
"Yeah. Me too." She said icily, going out side and sitting on the porch swing.  
  
"I'm such an asshole." Irvine muttered, putting his head in his hands.  
  
"Irvine . . . you said you'd never leave me!" She whispered to herself as she sat down on the swing.  
  
~The moon is full and my arms are empty, All night long I've pleaded and cried, You always said the day that you would leave me, Would be a cold day in July.~  
  
Irvine came out of their house with some suitcases a while later. He felt like the most horrible person in the world. Selphie was the most precious thing in the world to him and he was leaving all this behind, just because he was too cowardly to commit. It wasn't a good enough reason, and he knew it, but he was scarred out of his mind that he would be a bad husband-father even. Irvine knew that he still loved her, but he couldn't stand it if she cried again, with him as the cause. It was too much. He looked at her crying and hugging herself for a long while, tears staining his face quietly.  
  
Of all the days, her birthday. Of all the cruel things her could've done, it had been this. Something inside of Irvine told him he was going to regret this, but he walked over to his pick-up truck and placed his luggage in the trunk.  
  
The only sound that could be heard was quiet sobs. Selphie thought about the night Irvine had proposed to her. It was 3 months ago. They were sitting on the old porch swing-Selphie swore she could still feel his arms around her as he kissed her hair softly. He had whispered in her ear:  
  
"Selphie, I love you more than anything, you know?"  
  
She had smiled at this, looked into his eyes and replied: "I know. I love you too. More than anything in the world!"  
  
"Then," He paused, "will you marry me?"  
  
She was so stunned, that she wept for joy and nodded enthusiastically.  
  
~Your bags are packed not a word is spoken, I guess we said everything with goodbye, Time moves so slow and promises get broken, On this cold day in July.~  
  
But now, he was leaving.  
  
Irvine was finished loading up his belongings. Then, with one last look at the only girl he ever truly loved, he got into the car. The sun began to come up and Irvine hesitated before putting the vehicle in gear.  
  
The neighborhood children came running out of their own houses, laughing and playing games.  
  
Irvine finally pulled out of the driveway. Selphie immediately stood up and ran to the walkway, watching him drive away. She wept, placing her head in her hands in anguish.  
  
~Sun's comin' up comin' up down on Main Street, Children shout as they're running out to play, Head in my hands here I am, Standing in my bare feet, Watching you drive away, Watching you drive away.~  
  
After an hour or so, Selphie walked down to the beach. She was still crying-the tears wouldn't stop and she didn't even bother to wipe them away anymore. The skin around her eyes was puffy and raw. There was no way to hide that she was crying.  
  
She plopped down on the sand, just out of reach of the tide. She looked down the simple, but lovely engagement ring, set with her birthstone, a ruby, and pitched it into the calm sea.  
  
She recalled another memory of Irvine and her.  
  
They were sitting on the beach, holding hands and cuddling. She looked at Irvine, smiling the way she always did when she was with him-a soft, content smile, and asked:  
  
"You think we're gonna last forever?"  
  
"Forever and ever . . ."  
  
"Bull. All of it. It was all bull." She muttered bitterly.  
  
She watched the tide go forward and backward, forward and backward on the cool morning sand. The sunlight, just beginning to warm her surroundings, rested pleasantly on her slumped shoulders.  
  
~You said that we were gonna last forever, You said our love would never die, It looks like spring and, It feels like sunny weather, But it's a cold day in July.~  
  
3 months later, she walked down to the same spot on the ocean where she and Irvine shared their first kiss after the party following the Time Compression ordeal. She remembered everything and she wished that the GF would take away these now painful memories, instead of her childhood. She noticed a small glimmer in the sand and curiously bent down to see it closer.  
  
It was her ring!  
  
Stunned, Selphie picked it up, wiping the sand off of the ring, even washing it carefully in the salty water. It was an omen from Hyne. Perhaps, in a little while, they'd have a chance. And, although her expression showed no more that a ghost of a smile, she felt a faint sense of hope. He had left her, that was true, but maybe, just maybe, he'd come back.  
  
~Oh, sun's comin' up comin' up down on Main Street, Children shout as they're running out to play, Head in my hands here I am, Standing in my bare feet, Watching you drive away, Watching you drive away.~  
  
Author's Notes: I hope you enjoyed! (Don't worry Selvine fans, there's gonna be more! Lol! After all, she got an omen from Hyne, didn't she? Doesn't that say SOMETHING? Please review! Oh, and I'm going for sobfest, so, please be honest on how this made you feel! Tee hee! 


End file.
